Feeds and Speeds. Make sure you print a very small test version to make sure speed, extrusion, and temps are just right. I started at speed 45 but slowed down my machine to 90% at the beginning. Depending on the slope of your model, you may not be able to print at full speed for all sections. You may need to watch the print where it changes from vertical to non-vertical throughout the print time.

Space 1999. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZpMgNE2nHk The meta probe astronaut virus infection musn’t be allowed to stop us. No, not that, I mean do you have enough space to print this monster? a) Check how far back or forward your print bed travels. If your print is tall, is there anything behind the printer that hangs down or would get in the way. I had to move my table away from the wall toward the end. b) If this is your first large print, will any of your wires get in the way or be pulled with unnecessary tension due to how far the extruder assembly travels? You may need to re-route some of the wire management if it’s loose or this is a home build, etc. My extruder wires hung down across the print as it neared the very top. If you touch a thin print like this on one side, the other side will move because it’s all connected. Your print lines will be off alignment if something puts pressure on the print as it grows.

Filament Unbound: Check the full path of your filament route. The CR-10 extruder motor is mounted to the Z-axis which means the place the filament enters the machine moves up the printer as it prints. If you have filament on a non-standard spool it could be pulled off the carrier. If your filament unwraps from the bottom and your printing something tall, flip it over so it unwraps from the top. This gives you a better angle to the filament intake as it moves to the top of the printer. I feel like if I had my filament on the stock filament holder setup as it is in the directions, my spool would have been pulled into the printer. The extruder wires are just long enough to get to the top of the printer with the control box very close to the printer. I would have had to flip the original spool holder the opposite direction to accommodate moving the control box right up against the printer.

Printer Box

Nice looking CR-10 enclosure, or any printer for that matter. Uses easy to get and easy to print parts. You may need to be comfortable with taking apart your controller case if you want to go the full monty. The controller case is take apart and hung under the table in pieces, but you could just as easily cut a little under table shelf with the extra MDF.

Yes, this is from the guys that make the velocity painting script I’ve been using.

Octoprint gcode viewer does not show the velocity painting.

I believe Simplify 3D (paid) shows velocity painted gcode preview. The other free gcode viewers I found online do not show the velocity painted pattern except for the one above. I haven’t tested both versions of Cura.

More Filament

Next week – Report on printing E3D Edge filament. I have Green and Clear Edge brand filament coming from E3D. This is a new PETG base filament that should print as easily as PLA. I’m also trying out their red PLA.

flyingRich – More Black Scotch Brite – absent

Chad Cory – the fun I’m having with upgrading the mpcnc (thingiverse things not printing right or is my mpcnc not the same as others) and how it is sometimes better to start from scratch then to edit a stl. File you find on the internet.